Shannon Larratt is Zentastic

Wow, this is probably the most precarious fourth of July in the last century in a half for America. A draining series of wars with more on the way, questionable internal politics, although something like one in ten Americans now have $10 million or more in assets, while other Americans legally work for the $1.30 an hour farm worker minimum wage. At this point the average saving rate has dropped to -40% (that is, for every $10,000 the average American makes, at the end of the year they are left with $4,000 in debt: very dangerous — how many credit card offers have you gotten), and because of changes to bankrupcy law, this almost guarantees a life of indentured servitude for 90% of the population.

Ah, slavery.

Iran is pushing very hard, as are a number of other sources both Middle Eastern and European (and South American), to convert the international currency to the Euro (ie. this is an economic world war), as economists predict that within the year the US dollar may drop to nearly half its current value, and then spiral into hyperinflation as the economy crashes totally a la Germany, Yugoslavia, Argentina, Venezula, and so on, and the world goes through a half decade of hell (what happens to countries like Canada and China who rely on American buyers to support their own economies?), assuming America doesn't go bonkers and just start lobbing nukes as all but its wealthiest people become unable to continue living the lives they grew up expecting they were owed.

Well, I'm already looking for a nice empty property to finally build my earthship on… Something simple like 20 acres with some water, some forest, and a nice hill. Earthship up on top, with a large warehouse buried in the side of the hill (mostly because the earthship is so pretty that I'd hate to uglify the landscape with a big machine shed). Now I just have to find some pretty hillbilly girl who's good with a shotgun and a bow, wants to run off, build monster trucks, stockpile ammunition, and live the good life so I'm not too lonely! It's too bad my parents totally trashed the family farm in their divorce… The land I grew up on was an amazing survivable property, but I hope at least by watching a divorce destroy much of what my parents built together helps me not make the same mistakes.

Anyway, today I have to head out and drop off a damaged computer (motherboard powers up for a fraction of a second and then shuts down), get passport photos taken (both mine and Nefarious's have expired, and she's headed to Mexico soon), drop off a microphone, and then maybe finally hack together then “email via picture” feature for BME/extreme and BME/HARD. It's something I'd like to have ready for this weekend's members update.